The genesis of
Georg Philipp Telemann's so-called "Paris Quartets," milestones of the chamber genre, can be confusing. The first six quartets -- also referred to as suites, sonatas, and concertos -- first appeared under the collective title of "Quadri" in Paris 1730. They are quartets in that they consist of three instrumental parts and basso continuo, and a variety of possible instrumentations can be achieved from what
Telemann suggests. One such solution, for two violins, viola, and solo cello following the continuo part, would make these the earliest string quartets in history, and they have been both performed and recorded that way in modern times. When the quadri were new, however, such a combination would have seldom, if ever, been used. The flute was commonly included as either one or both of the treble parts, and the continuo generally understood to contain a cello or double bass and harpsichord. Therefore, the quadri were really intended for at least five instruments, which is what Dutch group
Musica Ad Rhenum uses on this Brilliant Classics recording. Moreover, it presses into service the second, 1736 edition of the quadri, which has a clearer musical text and amounts to a revision -- so much so that some do not trace its lineage back to the 1730 original -- and add the "Nouveaux Quatours" of 1737. This was intended as a sort of sequel to the earlier quartets; however, through some miracle
Telemann actually managed to surpass his creativity level he already capably demonstrated in the earlier set.
Unlike many of
Telemann's self-published editions, these works were not intended for amateurs, rather they were aimed at expert, professional performers;
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the subscribers to the original print of "Nouveaux Quatours."
Musica Ad Rhenum, under
Jed Wentz, does not take this for granted in its expert realization of this major chamber cycle. Present is the elegant sense of gracious balance and piquancy readily associated with Baroque chamber music; however,
Musica Ad Rhenum pays close attention to both the ensemble blend and parses out solo sections with care; it also works out dynamics of tempo to within the breadth of a hair. A constant sense of tempo typifies most performances of this material, but
Musica Ad Rhenum has discovered that by slightly varying it, mainly in transitions and endings, it provides for a big difference in exposing its expressive potential and for making this music sing. Quartets from both of these published sets have been recorded numerous times for many different combinations, and often recordings result in faceless, kind of distant performances that sound attractive but are not particularly effective emotionally. This Brilliant Classics recording, which is in excellent sound, by the way, has both the virtue of being relatively inexpensive and making this music as cozy and familiar sounding as a set of Brandenburg Concerti, well making clear the high reputation these chamber sets enjoyed in their time, and in ours.